Archive for July, 2009
Fab Freebie: The Grass Is Always Greener
***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries***
We first encountered this week’s giveaway sponsor a few weeks back when browsing Richmond’s Shops at 5807, which is collection of different local boutiques under one roof. MonkeyGrass caught our eye immediately thanks to their fun, colorful and stylish decor, candles, kids’ stuff, etc. And that was before we even realized that all of their merch was green! Even better, eh?
So we’re psyched that MonkeyGrass is generously offering up some of their personality-filled party goods to one fortunate reader. Just check out the eco-friendly party pack they’ve put together for us:
What you’re seeing there in the foreground are a foursome of Pop Tumblers, made from recycled soda bottles. I (as a self-proclaimed soda junkie) have been eyeing these for a while so I’m majorly envious of this week’s winner. But what is that they’re sitting on you ask? Well…
…it’s a Puzzle Piece Serving Board that’s made from sustainable wood. It can be kept together to serve a couple of friends who’ve stopped by for dinner, or be split apart to dish out for a variety of offerings on every surface you have available.
But wait there’s more. You may have spotted that festive fabric banner off in the distance of the first photo…
It’s actually a colorful Cotton Flag Banner which is truly a genius invention since it’s a reusable replacement for streamers, poster board & balloon decorations that are a lot more wasteful than a reusable one-size-fits-all party-in-a-pinnie. It’s perfect for birthday parties, bridal showers, Mother’s Day, a bachelor party… well, scratch that last one. Even so, we’re sure our winner will find plenty of uses to break out this festive string o’ flags and spare the local landfill a garbage bag full of disposable one-time-use stuff. We loved it so much that when MonkeyGrass generously offered up an extra banner for us that we couldn’t resist! Anyway here’s how to enter to snag the whole party pack:
- PRIZE: One green party pack from MonkeyGrass including Pop Tumblers, a Puzzle Serving Board and a Cotton Flag Banner (total value of $114)
- TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “PARTY ON” and…
- BONUS QUESTION: Tell us one of your favorite party planning tips. Do you have a special host/hostess trick? Or a party game that always seems to be a hit? Or maybe even some brilliant idea you especially enjoyed as a guest somewhere else?
- GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Wednesday, July 29th at 8pm EST
- NUMBER OF WINNERS: One, Uno, Un… and thus exhausts my foreign language skills
- PRIZE SHIPS: USA or Canada
- THE USUAL: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winner(s) will be selected using random.org and announced on Saturday. Good luck!
Get more info on our freebies at our Giveaway FAQs page. Serving Board image courtesy of MonkeyGrass.
The Nursery Makeover Begins… On Video!
We recently revealed that we’ll be working on a Young House Love nursery… just not for us. We’re super excited to create a fun and functional baby’s room for John’s sister Emily who’s expecting a little boy this October. And of course we have plenty of affordable DIY ideas up our sleeves that we’ll be sharing as we go. The first order of business in Emily’s blank canvas of a guest room was to get some paint up on those bare walls.
But we didn’t just settle for a fresh coat of soft blue-gray, we decided that a cheerful, modern and awesomely random vertical stripe effect was just the thing to get this makeover started with a bang.
The easy one-night process of taping, painting, and peeling was as simple as picking a color palette…
… getting that painter’s tape up on the wall…
… filling in each randomly sized and spaced stripe with one of our four accent colors and peeling off the tape to reveal…
… fresh slices of color around the room (we promise they’re straight, the camera lens just makes them bow out a little).
And we even whipped up this video of the entire painting process with more step by step details and paint color information:
Yes John’s awesomely long arms came in handy for the filming of this video. And that is an Oregon Trail icon on his painting shirt. Good times. Oh and you can watch it here on YouTube if you’re having trouble with Vimeo above.
And since we’ll be keeping a tally of how much our little nursery transformation costs, we’ll share the tally for this phase of the project. For a gallon of wall paint and three sample cans of our stripe colors (we already had the white paint on hand) the room got a totally new look to the tune of just $39. And we’ll also be using the leftover paint for a few more DIY projects around the room so we’ll get even more bang for our buck. Stay tuned…
And because we love a good teaser, we thought we’d share a glimpse of some of the bedding and upholstery choices along with our paint chip color palette so you guys can get a taste of the big picture:
Don’t you love those cute little elephants? Babies are so much fun, even before they’re born. So what about you guys. Any babies on the way? Any nursery makeover details that you’d like to share? Spill the bun-in-the-oven beans.
Julie’s Design Dilemma
Julie’s living room is ready for a little makeover magic. Here’s her letter:
This is going to be fun, and I’m so excited to get a spot on your makeover project list. As a newlywed, I’ve moved into my husband’s home and need help with our living room. I like to have clean, simple lines and neutrals/dark woods in furniture but am not afraid to use vibrant colors and texture in the accents. My husband would probably add a bit of traditional to the mix. If I had to pick a brand that represents my style, I would say Pottery Barn with a cottage twist (I love vintage florals and reds and pinks). We’d like a new sofa, the end tables can stay, the coffee table can be replaced, one set of chairs must stay but can be reupholstered, the fireplace needs something, and the paint color should stay the same. When it comes to color, we like red (as an accent), pink, yellow, mixes of fresh and vibrant colors. We don’t like orange/purple or too much deep color (burgundy, etc). We’re excited to see what you come up with! -Julie
This room will be unrecognizable after we’re done with it. Here’s the plan:
And now for the mood board breakdown.
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